Historical Village of Hokkaido

Looking back at these photographs, I can’t help but feel a yearning for snow. It was the heaviest snow I’ve experienced in my life so far. Everywhere I looked, it was all white. The snow rose up to more than a knee high. I know Sapporo would be cold in winter but I didn’t know the snow could be so dense and thick.

The funniest part about this particular trip is that I took a walk at an outdoor museum during a heavy snowstorm while most people would preferred to stay indoor in the comfort of their warm blankets. I was freezing the whole time and almost couldn’t feel my fingers anymore. But I was half-way walking to the museum when the snow started to get worse and I had been dying to explore this historical village so here goes.

Historical Village of Hokkaido is an open air museum of beautifully recreated old buildings from all over Hokkaido, dating from the Meiji and Taisho Periods (1868 to 1926). The buildings are stunning and together they make such a lovely Japanese vintage village.

The buildings are also filled with various historical pieces documenting wildlife, culture, and history of Hokkaido in the past. I love seeing vintage artefacts. They make me realise just how different the life of our ancestors were from our current modern lifestyle.

The snow covered village is a sight to behold. And with the snowstorm there came a silver lining – there wasn’t any crowds! Actually, half of the time we spent there, we were the only two actively checking out each building. Didn’t I say I’m dying to explore this site?

The snow fell so fast that our footsteps were covered in just a few minutes. I walked very slowly and carefully since I couldn’t tell apart which part of the ground was road and which wasn’t. B actually fell into a drain because everything was equally white.